Angostura dam is a composite type, consisting of a concrete gravity structure and an earth embankment. The concrete portion of the dam comprises a gated spillway section located in the river channel and two non-overflow sections, one extending to the left abutment and one abutting the earth embankment extending to the right abutment. The dam has a crest length of 2,030 feet; the concrete section is 970 feet long and the earth embankment 1,060 feet long, with a structural height of 193 feet and a hydraulic height of 136 feet above the riverbed.

The spillway is an overflow section in the concrete portion of the dam, controlled by five 50- by 30-foot radial gates. Discharge capacity is 247,000 cubic feet per second. The river outlet works consists of a 4.5-foot diameter steel conduit through the concrete dam section, controlled by one 4-foot-square high-pressure slide gate in the valve house at the downstream end. Discharge capacity is 590 cubic feet per second. The main canal outlet works for irrigation water delivery consists of a 6-foot-diameter steel conduit through the concrete dam terminating in a valve house, a stilling basin, and canal headworks at the downstream end. Releases into the 290-cubic- foot-per-second-capacity canal are controlled by two 3.5-foot-square high-pressure slide gates in the valve house.